Abandoning Scientific Linux Was a Mistake
Article argues CERN/Fermilab's abandonment of Scientific Linux for CentOS was a mistake due to lost option value.
This article reflects on CERN and Fermilab's decision to abandon Scientific Linux in favor of CentOS, arguing it was a mistake. The author contends that maintaining an independent RHEL-compatible distribution provided valuable optionality that was lost when CentOS pivoted to Stream. The piece discusses the importance of infrastructure redundancy and the value of maintaining institutional knowledge for Linux distributions.
- CERN and Fermilab abandoned Scientific Linux for CentOS in 2010s.
- Decision was based on CentOS offering similar functionality.
- CentOS Stream pivot in 2020 forced re-evaluation of strategy.
- Article argues maintaining independent distribution had option value.
From the original article
9 min read at blog.melashri.netA recent CERN announcement caught my attention. By the end of 2026, more than 2,200 industrial computers and embedded systems around CERN's accelerator complex are expected to be running Debian 13. CERN is not abandoning the Red Hat ecosystem.
By elashri · blog.melashri.net
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